


Steady (I'm glad they are)

by MariahLacey42



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Gen, POV First Person, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Soul Bond, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, i just wanted to write about platonic soulmate nekoma, this is what happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27903337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariahLacey42/pseuds/MariahLacey42
Summary: In a universe where every important relationship creates a soul bond, be it familial, platonic, or romantic, the Nekoma Volleyball Club's connections are one of a kind.OrSome ramblings and musings about the characters of Nekoma and their interactions
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Steady (I'm glad they are)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is the first fanfic I've published on AO3 and the first one I've posted anywhere in a long time.
> 
> However, I love the members of Nekoma and wanted more content that focuses on them without a romantic lens, so here we are! 
> 
> The bonds I refer to in this appear when people reach a certain amount of trust in their relationships and help people to feel each other's emotions and physical states in addition to having inherent characteristics that reflect the owner of the bond. It's far from a traditional soulmate AU, but I loved writing it so much!

If I had to describe Nekoma Volleyball Club’s bonds, I would say that they are all steady, constant in their movement and regular in their love. Though each member has their own unique color, I’m consistently struck by how similar they feel.

Yaku’s bond feels like a gentle pulling on your hand and heart, the feeling of a long-overdue hug that imparts care, worry, love, and anger all at the same time, without being overwhelming; Kenma’s feels like talking at 2 am with a childhood friend, voices low as if hiding secrets while your sides split with silent laughter, like silent contemplations in a winter wood; Kai’s feels like a warm patch of sunlight on a long hike, relief and constancy when it is needed the most, a bond that makes you stop and realize your own happiness. Fukunaga reminds me of slow spring days, sitting in contented silence while birds chirp and cars pass by as the background noise of bliss, of quiet chuckles that take you so much by surprise that you can’t help but laugh as well.

Even those in the team who you would think are chaotic and constantly changing have this warmth and strength to their bonds that keeps me going through the day, just so I can bask in them. Tora feels like a big, shaggy lapdog lying on top of you, the slightest bit stifling, but undeniably loving, like head ruffles and silly faces and laughing in public, regardless of other’s gazes; while Lev feels like cheap ice pops in summer, the surprise of small moments and the reminder of mischief mixed in with friendship, like a reunion that makes you feel like no time has passed at all; and Teshiro feels like a hand on your back, a reminder that you are supported and never alone, like a friend turning up at your house without a word, yet you know exactly what they need.

I was fairly opposed to the idea when Kuroo first started suggesting I manage a large group of high school boys, but I couldn’t refuse him, not with his enthusiasm, and his bond, that burns brightly like a sunrise, beautiful and delicate and impossible to look away from, like smiles across the classroom and random texts at 3 am. I didn’t know what to expect when I was first brought into the net of their connections, shuffled awkwardly into something that felt way out of my depth, but over the next few months, every time I felt that telltale click of a new bond, I found myself glad that I relented.

Sometimes, when I don’t feel like tracking statistics during practice, I just close my eyes, basking in the interconnectedness they created. Together, the bonds of each individual member create the feeling of a woven basket, filled with blankets, soft and strong and perfect for a cat to make its home in. That feeling, more than any love of volleyball I may have, is why I love being with these guys. I know in my heart that this special bond they have is what helps them be so good at connecting on the court. I think that’s what Coach Nekomata’s goal is when crafting a team, to create a fully knitted bond that feels like home. It’s not perfect yet, as it’s still early in the year, but I know we will only grow together as Nekoma.

Some of the new cats are still a bit hesitant. It took Kenma a while to warm up to Lev at first, the late nights and bright summer days fighting until they connected into perfect dusk. We also keep trying to talk to Shibayama, because he feels so far away from everyone else. I don’t think he is properly connected to anyone on the team except for Inuoka and his overwhelming sense of a shocking yet crisp pool in Summer, of jumping on a trampoline and laughing until you fall down and get bounced into the air by your friends. I get glimpses of Shibayama’s bond sometimes, I can feel a hint of a long road trip to places that feel both novel and comfortable, of freedom without loneliness, and I get excited to see what will happen when his threads weave into our basket.

I hear stories from my sunbeam boy about how the team wasn’t always this way. About how Kenma and Tora refused to bond until Fukunaga stepped in and about how the old upperclassman didn’t care about the basket of energy they were creating, instead using their power to boss others around, and retracting their bonds from anyone else. When I think about that amount of apathy towards the cat den, I find it hard to fathom. The Nekoma I know is definitely chaotic, with first years that have enough energy for a whole team and third years struggling to keep everyone on task, but underneath the squabbles and pointers and long practices is a love that is unmistakable. I’m glad that the current members cherish our connections because I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sometimes when I zone out in class, I can feel my chest being pulled lightly to the 3-5 classroom, where the gentle pull and the peachy sunrise bristle against one another in friendly competition. It makes me want to walk out of my class and knock them upside the head, make us all laugh before sitting together in a circle of threads. Though I know their fighting doesn’t hold a shred of malice, it sometimes baffles me how two boys with such a strong bond manage to act like water and oil. Or sometimes during lunch, I find myself being drawn to the courtyard, where the first years mix together into a cocktail of enthusiasm and ambition, one that makes me want to run out there after them and brings out so much energy in me that I don’t dread my afternoon classes. My favorite is during overnight training camps when the hand on our backs drifts off at nine and the rest of us can’t help but follow, tugged under by our tightly woven threads. And then in the morning the bright energy of our guard dog, summer ice, and cold pool tugs us up for another day of training, pure life pulsing through the air and infecting all of us.

Training camps can also mean practice matches with other schools, and those constantly have me breathless in wonder. Even from the outside, I love seeing, writing down, and basking in the webs that these other teams create. Yes, it’s part of my job as the manager to keep tabs on other teams, but I would do this in a heartbeat whether I was asked to or not. Seeing our woven basket go up against the constantly changing yet beautiful tidepool of Fukurodani, the reaching, yearning sapling of Karasuno, or the unsettling yet unmistakably warm den of Nohebi creates a strange sense of family in me. Whether we win or lose, we get to share our bond with the others and show them that we are more than a team. As the last point is scored and Nekoma prepares for a penalty sprint, I reminisce on how much I have come to care for this family in such a short time. Wide eyes from our spring day meet mine and with a soft smile and a wave of fondness and love, I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Sometimes when I lay in bed at night, thoughts trailing to improbable places, I wonder if I would still care about these kids even if we didn’t have intangible threads bonding us together, and every time I come up with the same answer. Soul bonds or not, Nekoma is my home and my family, and no matter what, they remain steady, a woven basket that I want to make my home in.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed my fic! Let me know what you thought of it, I know my style is a bit unconventional and is far from perfect, so I'd love to hear your feedback and reactions!
> 
> I love the concept of platonic soulmates so I might end up writing more in this universe, or even just more platonic Nekoma content. (specifically, Fukunaga Shouhei is the love of my life and I need to rectify the lack of content in his tag)


End file.
